Apple has already put its new battery cases for the latest iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max on sale . This is a pretty essential accessory for many users, so it's a product many were eagerly awaiting in stores. However, some might be in for a few surprises when they check out some of the details.
How many mAh does the Apple Smart Battery Case have?
At Wirecutter , editor Nick Guy has already received some units to review and provide his assessment, and while he's preparing the detailed article, he wanted to share some key points via his Twitter account. The first of these relates to one of the accessory's main features: its internal battery capacity. Thanks to the images shared by Guy, we can see that both models of the case, the version for the iPhone XS and the one for the iPhone XS Max , have an internal battery of 1,369 mAh.
iPhone XS and XS Max Smart Battery Cases are here (XR coming later in the week). Worth nothing that the XS doesn't list X compatibility. pic.twitter.com/4WqZ5HuQOa
— Nick Guy (@thenickguy) January 16, 2019
This makes the new Smart Battery Case the lowest capacity version released by Apple since the iPhone 6, as both that version and the iPhone 7 version have capacities of 1.877 and 2.365 mAh respectively.
Does this mean that the new Smart Battery Case is worse?
Technically no. Apple informs on its official website that the external battery will offer up to 33 hours of conversation, 21 hours of web browsing or 25 hours of video playback, figures that exceed those offered by previous models, so in principle the reduction of battery should not affect the user. This is due to a new power management system that appears to be quite efficient, however why have they not chosen to keep the power capabilities to offer even more range? And another important point, why is the price higher even with less battery?
Both iPhone XS and XS MAX Smart Battery Case have a 1369 mAh capacity. iPhone 7 version was 2365, iPhone 6 was 1877. pic.twitter.com/MtJdFC98qQ
— Nick Guy (@thenickguy) January 16, 2019
The price issue could be related to the new energy management and the incorporation of the wireless charging system, a feature that has also made it necessary to increase the thickness of the accessory. At least now, the new cases do not include any type of lower chin, something that stylizes the appearance of the phone and does not increase its dimensions.
Also, New Battery Cases have more/higher density batteries than previous generations.
They use 2 cells now instead of 1. So, you're getting around 1.4 additional watt hours and almost 400 more milliamp hours.
BUT power efficiency is WAY more important than quantity these days. pic.twitter.com/VfZCaVWPz8
— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) January 16, 2019
In any case, as they have explained later, although the new batteries have a lower capacity, something they do offer is a higher density. The new models have two cells inside, which is why it has managed to offer a higher voltage, reaching 10,1 Wh compared to the 7,13 and 8,98 Wh of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 cases respectively, for which in that case there is improvement.
The Smart Case Battery will be compatible with the iPhone X… if you use iOS 12.1.3
As usual, Apple.com was/is correct.
iPhone XS Smart Battery Case DOES NOT WORK with iPhone X.
Camera fits but not tight, speaker/mic holes aren't aligned, charging system throws up a compatibility error.
(Now I'm going to https://t.co/bkloMllutP to ask for an X version…) pic.twitter.com/gUHvY6vuoI
— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) January 16, 2019
Update : It seems the secret lies in updating to the latest version of iOS for everything to work correctly. So, the device must have version 12.1.3 installed for the case to function. An error message will still appear, but the charging process will still work. What we don't know is whether the intelligent power management is affected in any way; we'll only know for sure after further testing.
Ok, here's the? correct info:
You CAN use iPhone XS battery case with iPhone X. You may get that incompatibility pop up. But, if you dismiss it, it should charge fine. (Update iOS / reboot if not.)
(Speaker/mics still won't be aligned, if you care about acoustic performance.) pic.twitter.com/05IQyUctcQ
— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) January 16, 2019
Original article:
Do not even try. Apple has decided to block the compatibility of these devices by software, since although the previous generation of the iPhone fits perfectly in the new case (the microphone and the speaker do not match the exit holes, but the rest is fine), the system of charging is not activated when detecting that it is not a new iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max (in this case the first one due to its size), returning an uncomfortable compatibility error. Well, this cover is smart...